The Fireflies and the Paper Lantern
by OuranKarate
Summary: One day. That's all it took to ruin all the effort Hotaru and Takashi put into hiding their relationship. Little did anyone know, that also was the cause of revealing old scars. Takashi/MorixOC
1. Chapter 1

**I only own my characters and my plot, the rest belong to the respectable Hatori Bisco!**

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><p>For most people at Ouran Academy it was a normal Friday, at least as normal as you could get at such a prestigious school. The weather was pleasantly sunny, and a gentle breeze raked the schoolyard of the Academy much to the appreciation of its occupants, all of whom were winding down from a long, hard day of studying. A normal Friday, that is, except for one thing—or, more accurately, one girl—a girl who<strong>,<strong> on any other day, would_ usually_ leave Ouran once school was out, but of whom was instead running through the hallways. Naturally this is where the story starts.

It was a typical hosting day. Kyoya Ootori had opened the doors of the unused third music room exactly fifteen minutes after school ended, easily and efficiently shepherding the crowd of girls inside the doors and directing them to the host of their choice. About half of them instantly made their way over to the 'King', while the rest dispersed over the remaining six hosts.

The aforementioned "King" of the Host Club, Tamaki Suoh, being the egotistical person he was, took turns individually flattering each girl until they melted into a puddle of blushing cream. This continuous cycle of flatterynever seemed to inflict upon his hosting any amount of contempt, for one of his favorite things about his job was seeing so many different people blush. More or less, his hosting was overdone, romantic, and slightly cheesy adulation to all the girls in the room at that time, and Haruhi Fujioka**, **the only female in the club, was no exception. He never missed an opportunity to try and make her blush, but in course of each attempt she swiftly and easily shot down every opportunity that was bestowed him.

Kyoya Ootori, well known manager and 'Shadow Lord', preferred to refer to the guests as 'clients' while adding up the profits of hosting for that day, and in course of his duties as hostinterested said clients with some random points of information. He really didn't go out of his way to entertain them, but he wasn't nearly as distant as he was during class. Mostly, the girls would take turns in helping him with the calculations, or trying to impress him with information that he already knew. His hosting was more or less an amusement to him, but none of his clients seemed to mind all that much.

Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin on the other hand were quite the opposite in their activities when compared with the Shadow King, as bothwere busy entertaining their guests with the new games that they had invented the previous day. Most everyone could see they were based off the 'Which One is Hikaru Game,' yet even so, they had somehow found new ways to make the game more interesting and complicated, and no one was complaining. The clients loved playing the game no matter what changes or altercations had been made.

Mitsukuni Haninozuka and Takashi Morinozuka, otherwise known as "Honey" and "Mori" respectively, always hosted together much like the twins Hikaru and Kaoru hosted together. When the Host Club had first started, however, this had not been the case; for in the beginning an attempt by Tamaki had been made to try and divide them. His effort was not meant to harm, his intentions were quite the opposite, but while this worked just fine for Honey, who didn't have any problems with talking to his guests while eating cake, Mori on the other hand did not fare so well. After two sessions of hosting in which he and his beet red, blushing customers all sat in complete and utter silence, Kyoya had insisted upon pairing them both up so they could work as a team. This proved to be one of many successful victories, and the guests requested both of them together instead of one or the other, which admittedly added a good deal to the overall pleasantatmosphere. Honey would eat cake amidst talking to all of the customers, and Mori would watch over the supply of tea and cake, getting more whenever they were running low and occasionally, if rarely, commenting on the conversation. At first, the host club had proved to make Mori entirely disconcerted, but he was getting used to it in due course, much like the rest of them had. The extravagant themes didn't even faze him, let along anyone else, anymore, while Honey, on the other hand, had had no trouble with adjusting to the crazed schedule of being a host from the beginning.

Haruhi Fujioka, the newest addition to the club, was charming her clients with her logical comments coupled with awkward smiles. Occasionally, she would ask one of the girls a question about themselves, causing them all to squeal and blush madly. The oblivious, natural host would then smile politely and wait for the giggles to subside before she received her answer. Haruhi considered all her guests to be her friends, no matter how silly they acted around her.

For the remaining hours of the school day the Host Club would pass the time in a similar manner of entertainment and frivolity, and once hosting hours had ended, the girls left the music roomin happily satisfied swarms, giggling and exchanging information on how their hosting session had just gone. Then, as soon as the last girl had exited the room, the hosts would all gather to the middle of the table and prepare for the meeting that Tamaki had warned them all about previously. The meetings usually turned out to be conversations on what their next cosplay should be, so none of them were really expecting much this time around. None of them, that is**,** except for the twins, who had both stayed up all night researching themes they thought would be fitting.

As per usual, to begin the talks Kyoya was the one to take command, calling for the chatter to die down with the expectancy that he would be obeyed, and he was. No one dared utter a word when he was going to speak, and this was mostly for fear of some horrible consequence that awaited them in the future**;** they didn't know what, but they knew for certain that Kyoya Ootori was capable of _anything_. However, only when he was certain that the final joke and been told and the last flourish had been made didKyoya fully begin the meeting, starting by pointingout a few things that they could get rid of to cut costs, like he did at every meeting. Most of them included cutting down their costs by lowering the level of food consumption—a thingwhich wasn't likely to happen among certain members of the club; though of course, no one was pointing fingers. Soon however his 'rant' had finished, and once he had fallen silent the attention of the club was then invariably turned to Tamaki.

Rising from the table as Kyoya sat, Tamaki beamed around at the members of his club, his entire being seeming to glow with excitement and anticipation. "What theme should we have next?" He asked in a voice that was anything but official, his eyebrows rising happily inquisitive as he looked around. He hardly paused, however, to wait for an answer before continuing onward. "Haruhi, do you have any suggestions?" he said, customarily turning his attention to the less-than active member of the Host Club.

"Household appliances?" Haruhi suggested half-heartedly, no doubtthinking about the chores she still had yet to complete at home. Immediately the twins both shook their heads in disappointment before pointedly neatening their pile of papers filled with ideas and clearing their throats.

A slight look of disappointment crossed his face, but the expression hardly lasted as he turned to toward the boy next to him. "What about you, Mommy?" he simpered to Kyoya, whose glasses flashed with apparent anger as he looked over to Tamaki.

"Ask the twins, _Daddy_," Kyoya retorted coolly, pushing up his glasses importantly and opening his notebook to ruffle through its contents. Again a feeling of being let-down was clear on the face of the King, but it was soon gone as he followed the advice and lookedover to the twins, who both smirked importantly.

"Well, our first idea was-" They began, but no one ever really found out what the idea was. At that moment, the door slammed open**, **allowing a girl to run inside.

She was of normal height, with straight, shoulder length brown hair that curved up at the end. Her skin was fair, mouth and nose of a delicate and smooth curvature. Yet while her face in itself was indeed attractive, what caught the most attention happened to be her startlingly golden hazel eyes. They swept the room**, **as if in frenzy, before resting on the tallest host, and hurrying over to him.

"Mori!" The girl exclaimed, her voice slightly panicked, surprising all of them with the tone. "What happened to Otou-san?"

All of the hosts blinked, looking first at the newcomer then over to Takashi Morinozuka, who was busy staring at the startled girl with a mixture of emotions in his eyes. That was one of the last things that they had expected to hear from someone bursting into a meeting.

"I heard the other maids talking, they said he went to the hospital last night, and I thought-" The girl started up again, but was quickly silenced as Mori's hand rested on her shoulder. She blinked and looked up at him, wondering when he had gotten to his feet.

"It was just a small training accident," He told her sincerely, gazing into her hazel orbs. "The sword from one of the new students in the dojo slid out of their grasp during a drill, and landed on his foot. It was just a little cut. He is going to be okay."

The girl breathed a deep sigh of relief, brushing a strand of hair out of her face before freezing. She was suddenly uncomfortably aware of the whole entire host club staring at them, and the atmosphere seemed to thicken to the point where you wouldn't be able to swim through it, even if you tried. After a minute of them all staring at each other, Tamaki seemed unable to handle the silence or the awkward feeling it presented in the air.

"Princess," he began in a practiced voice, running his hand through his hair. "Do you by any chance know our dear friend, Mori-senpai?"

"Erm..." Was all the girl had to offer at the unexpected questioning, backing up quickly as though she were being accosted by a frightening predator.

"Who are you?" The twins asked bluntly, their cat-like eyes unsettling her further.

"Takashi, who is that?" Honey also queried, looking up at Mori with wide, serious eyes.

Ignoring the questions directed toward them, Mori instead sent an apologetic look over to the mysterious girl. She seemed to understand the unspoken message within the apology, because at that moment she acquired a flustered expression, turning on her heal and scrambling out of the room as if the predators had suddenly given chase, leaving the door wide open behind her in her mad attempt to flee. The hosts all exchanged curious and surprised expressions, looking back over to the stoic host, who once again had obtained a look of expressionless calm. That look did not last long. A loud, crashing thump echoed in from the hall a minute later, and his mask was replaced by a look of apprehension and worry.

Mori was the first one out of the door, moving quickly in order to look at the bottom of the staircase as soon as possible. Sure enough, as though it were something to be expected, there the girl was, sitting in a crumpled heap at the very bottom of the set of steps that seemed a common occurrence in Ouran's architecture. In the time it took for her to pull herself onto her knees was the same amount of time it took for the hosts to gather around her, their positions effectively eliminating all chance of escape with the wall their bodies created. As the first to reach her, Mori knelt down and helped her up the rest of the way to her feet.

Despite her somewhat battered appearance, the girl smiled sheepishly, rubbing her elbows that had taken most of the shock when she fell. For a moment she was silent, but the silence soon ended as she looked up to Mori.

"I just screwed up everything, didn't I?" she asked, her tone slightly remorseful.

Mori smiled slightly and proceeded merely to pat her head consolingly. It was obvious, there was no way around it, and they both knew that it was no use to run anymore; they were officially, and somewhat quite literally, cornered.

"Might I suggest that we move this into the club room?" Kyoya asked, the tone of his voice making the "request" sound more like a stern demand. They both nodded mutely before all of the hosts plus the girl ascended the staircase back to the club room, where they all sat down around the table. Again, the silence that seemed to insert itself quite often into the atmosphere of the normally active Host Club filled the room, though as it often did it only lasted a couple of minutes before once again being interrupted.

"Who are you?" Kyoya finally asked, breaking the quietude with the question first and foremost on everyone's mind, and the girl took a deep breath. This was the moment she had been dreading: the questioning.

"My name is Kimura Hotaru, and I am seventeen," Hotaru replied evenly, finally keeping her gaze steady, and fixed onto the hosts.

"Seventeen?" Tamaki wondered aloud, looking at the girl with curiosity and a slight trepidation. It wasn't that she didn't look her age, because she did, but it was something else entirely confusing about her that caught his eye, something that he couldn't remember ever happening to him before, a concern he quickly voiced. "I don't remember seeing you in class before," He finished, somehow ominous despite the lightness of his tone.

"I remember both of you," Hotaru offered, nodding at both Kyoya and Tamaki, who in turn gave her somewhat disbelieving looks. "I sit in the back of the room by the windows;" she clarified, continuing in the same even tone in which she had used to speak her identity. "And I know who the rest of you are as well. Mori speaks of you often."

With shock present in the air, they all turned from Hotaru to Mori, who was sitting across from her. Mori averted his eyes from everyone staring at him, feeling as though their gazes were burning holes through him. "Are you his sister?" Haruhi asked interestedly, trying to find any resemblance between her friend and the mysterious girl in front of her.

"No," Hotaru replied simply, a little bemused at this thought.

"Cousin?" Tamaki tried, thinking of Hotaru calling Akira Morinozuka, 'Otou-san'.

"Nope," Hotaru answered again, shaking her head. "We aren't related."

"Schoolmate?" The twins inquired, seeming to forget the fact that she and Mori were not in the same grade.

Before anybody could continue the questioning however, Mori, seeming to decide it had gone on long enough, broke into the conversation.

"Girlfriend," He enlightened them shortly. At that single word, the scene seemed somehow suspended in time as everyone worked to processwhat would usually be seen as unlikely information. The aura of the room was horrendous, like the pressure buildup in a space just before something explodes—and soon enough, it did.

"WHAT?" most of the hosts shrieked in unison, looking back and forth at the apparent couple, the two people of interest suddenly appearing uncomfortable; or at least even more uncomfortable than they already had been. Even Kyoya, the Shadow King who had been previously thought of as being impervious to shock, broke the pen he had been using to write in his notebook.

"Mori has a girlfriend? Since when?" Tamaki exclaimed, clearly beside himself.

"About two or three years," Hotaru replied, curious to know whether the reaction was just shock, or an overall negative.

"Takashi! You never told me!" Honey sobbed, tugging at his cousin's sleeve. "And you're a host too! How could you lie to us?"

"We didn't think that there would be any other way that would allow him to join the Host Club…" Hotaru replied, trying to show her reasoning through her words. Of course, it wasn't working out too well for her. This only seemed to add oil to Kyoya's personal raging wildfire.

"How come I don't have any information about you?" Kyoya demanded, clearly unhappy with the surprise their relationship presented. He was Kyoya Ootori, and he didn't miss things like this, yet here they were**, **a physical rendering of his sudden incapability to discover everything.

"When Tamaki had first invited Mori into the host club, we had just begun dating. Well… I wanted him to be more social. I thought that it might be an excellent way to get him to talk to more people. So we decided that we should just keep our dating a secret. But I'm not going to apologize, because I don't regret him joining the club, despite the purpose. " Hotaru replied somewhat shortly, seemingly less perturbed by Kyoya's apparent irritancy than most people, including those in the host club, would be.

"Takashi..." Honey whined, rubbing his eyes. "But I have never ever seen you both together before! Not even just hanging out."

"You've seen us," Mori corrected, as Hotaru nodded brightly.

"...Eh?" Was all Honey had to offer at that, his shota cuteness appearing ridiculously confused. Then, suddenly, realization dawned upon him, his already large eyes widening considerably. "Y-you're that maid!" He gasped, pointing at Hotaru as she smiled warmly and nodded.

"You remembered me," She commented happily, reaching over to pat him on the head. "I thought you would have forgotten."

"No, I remember, you're the maid who makes the desserts!" Honey replied, happily thinking of the Lemon Meringue that he had once eaten. "You're a really good cook, nee?"

"I don't make any of the desserts, actually; I prefer to do the decorating instead," Hotaru corrected him, smiling slightly. Honey nodded approvingly, before turning to Mori.

"Takashi, I will forgive you on one condition only," Honey started out, holding his finger up importantly, making sure that he had everyone's undivided attention before continuing. "I want you to tell me the story."

"Story?" Tamaki asked, slightly confused.

"Of how they met and fell in love!" Honey replied, smiling cheekily over to Mori, who was blushing slightly. "Takashi doesn't manage to express his feelings that well, so I am curious to know what miracle occurred to help him get so lucky."

"Ouch," The twins both said, looking over to Mori who was smiling slightly.

"I did get lucky," He clarified, as Hotaru shook her head, clearly disagreeing.

"No, uh-uh, we are _not_ going to start reciting any of those corny pickup lines," Hotaru replied with a chuckle, her words eliciting a slight, scoffing snort from the twins.

"You still have to tell the whole story!" Honey called out, clearly not wanting them to beat around the bush.

Mori and Hotaru both smiled at each other. Clearly, there was no sliding out of the question.

"Do you want to tell the story? Or should I?" Hotaru asked Mori, as he nodded towards her. Hotaru beamed before turning back to the rest of the hosts, who had watched the exchange between them.

"It all started when I was five years old, Mori was six. But at the time, he was Mori-chan," Hotaru started, a gleam present in her eyes as she smiled.

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><p>Flashback/

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><p><em>"We're moving?" A small brunette with hazel eyes parroted to her mother, having just been told the news.<em>

_"Yes, we don't really have a choice in that matter. The house burned down," The girl's mother replied, shifting her gaze over to the window through which could be seen the rubble of their once sturdy house. They were staying with their neighbors at the moment, since there wasn't any other place for them to go._

_"Oh..." The little girl replied, comprehension dawning on her. "But I like Kyoto..."_

_"You'll like Tokyo more," Her mother promised, smiling softly at her. "I told Daddy, he is still on his business trip, but he said he would meet us there. I already found a job!" The girl nodded silently, thinking of this new, mysterious place called Tokyo. "Come here, sweetheart. We can put some more ice on your burn."_

_Within a week, the small family had arrived in Tokyo._

_"Hello!" An unfamiliar voice called out, causing the small girl to jump and cower behind her mother. She couldn't help it; everything was so different and strange here. An average heighted woman had just emerged from a huge house, wearing a Kimono. Her black hair was pulled back into a low pony tail, as her brown eyes practically shouted welcome. "You're the Kimura family, correct?"_

_"Yes," Her mother replied, politely bowing. "Or at least a portion of it. My husband is still on his business trip. I am Hitomi, and this is my daughter, Hotaru."_

_"I am Morinozuka, Tora. It's a pleasure to meet you both," The woman replied happily, smiling down at Hotaru who was still hiding. "How old are you, Hotaru-chan?" Tora asked kindly, and in response Hotaru tried to conceal herself behind her mother even more._

_"... Five," She replied timidly after a minute, and both of the adults laughed. She didn't understand why they were laughing, she hadn't told a joke. Maybe she should have said five and a half, technically yesterday was the half-way point..._

_"You're around the same age as my son!" Tora replied happily, turning back to the house. "Takashi, come here please! There is someone I want you to meet!"_

_At the sound of the woman's call, a tall black haired boy peeked out of the house, over towards his mother. There was a questioning expression on his face, and his mother laughed again._

_"Come on," she coaxed, and he emerged. He was wearing a plain black shirt and some long jeans, which were both caked in mud. "Oh my goodness, Takashi!" His mother gasped, looking down at him with wonder. "How on earth did you manage that in such a small amount of time?"_

_The boy wordlessly pointed at the patches of mud that were located around the yard, and his mother sighed._

_"You're incredible," She informed him, patting his head meekly when he reached her. "This is Kimura Hotaru, and she is five. Her mother is going to be working here from now on. Maybe you both can play together some time?"_

_At these words, Hotaru peeked out from behind her mother to lay eyes on the new possible chance for a playmate. Her mother nudged her out from behind her, and she sighed, before bowing respectfully to the older boy. The older boy did the same, looking at her with a faint curiosity that could be traced in her eyes as well. Everyone was silent for a minute, before Hotaru spoke._

_"Mud painting?" She asked in wonder, pointing to the patches of mud, then to the boy. He looked surprised for a minute, before nodding. Hotaru turned to her mother._

_"Mummy, can I mud paint too?" She pleaded, giving her mother the very best puppy dog eyes she could muster._

_This, apparently, was not what either of the mothers was expecting. They looked back and forth between the two children, both of whom awaited the answer mutely. Finally, Hotaru's victory could be discerned by the sigh that her mother gave, before turning to Tora._

_"Would you mind?" She asked apologetically. Tora just giggled, shaking her head._

_"Of course I don't! I'm just a little surprised that someone could figure out what he was doing! We all thought he just liked to make a mess!"_

_Hotaru's mother laughed as well, and Hotaru took off her jacket and handed it to her mother._

_"Here mum," She said excitedly, before turning to Takashi._

_"Where is the best mud?" She asked enthusiastically, as he smiled, and pointed to a patch near the side of the house. They both hurried over to the mud, which was surrounded by large, flat rocks. Hotaru gasped in delight, before carefully removing her shoes, avoiding the blistering burn on her ankle and sitting down on the edge. Her hand scooped a small handful of mud, as she turned to the nearest stone and rubbed her hands together, effectively smearing mud all over them. Once she had made sure her hands were entirely covered in the substance, she neatly placed her hands on the rock, and then lifted them. Two slightly sloppy, muddy handprints were left on the smooth stone._

_Takashi, who had been watching her play with the mud, raised his eyebrow when she motioned for him to come closer._

_"Come on! Put your hands on the rock too!" She encouraged, beaming as he nodded. He scooped up a hand of fresh mud and rolled them it his hands, before leaning over and placing his hands on the rock, right beside Hotaru's. When he lifted his hands, the mud had gone on perfectly. Not that either of them noticed this much._

_"Wow..." Hotaru murmured, scratching her chin and accidently smearing some mud onto her face in the process. "You have really big hands."_

_"You have small hands," Takashi corrected, as Hotaru giggled. This was the first time that she had heard him speak, and she instantly decided that she liked the sound of his voice._

_"Maybe I do..." She considered with a childish wonder, holding her hands up to the light as though that would help in discerning the size. Takashi nodded, smiling slightly at her._

_"Satoshi has small hands too. But mom says that's because he's still growing," Takashi informed her, sitting down across from her to reach the mud better._

_"Satoshi?" Hotaru questioned, tilting her head to the side._

_"My little brother," Takashi informed her, a small smile sliding across his face. "He just turned two." Hotaru smiled; it seemed that once you could get him started talking, he was a chatterbox._

_"I don't have any sisters or brothers. I had two worms, but mom made me put them back in the ground..." Hotaru replied glumly, looking down at the handprints she was smearing on the rock._

_"That's sad..."_

_"Yeah... I liked the worms too. I didn't even have enough time to name them. I hope they are okay..."_

_"I'm sure they are," Takashi assured her, and she smiled._

_"You know, it's nice to have a friend here. When I moved from my old town, I thought everyone wouldn't talk to me."_

_"I will talk to you," Takashi replied after a minute, smiling as he covered more rocks in yet more mud._

_"You promise?" Hotaru asked hopefully, her eyes brightening up. Takashi nodded and she held out her finger. "You have to pinky promise, otherwise it doesn't count!" She said happily. Takashi gave her a slightly confused expression, looking from the finger, then to Hotaru._

_"...You're supposed to link pinky fingers," Hotaru informed him after a minute, and Takashi slowly held out his pinky finger, before linking it with hers. Hotaru then shook her arm very enthusiastically, startling Takashi. After a few seconds, he seemed to pick up on the motion, because he then shook his arm with her._

_"Hotaru-chan!" Her mother called, appearing from the front of the house. "Come on; let's go wash your hands off. Then we can start unpacking!"_

_"Coming, mum!" Hotaru called back, before turning to Takashi. "I will see you later, right?" She asked, and he nodded. Hotaru took off, running towards her mother, and waving over her shoulder._

_"We got really lucky!" Hitomi informed Hotaru, leading her to a small house that stood about a mile away from the mansion. "There were two rooms left in the Maid's sleeping quarters. Otherwise, we would have had to find different arrangements that wouldn't be as accommodating."_

_"That's good..." Hotaru replied, not really understanding her mother's vocabulary, but not willing to admit it. "When will Daddy be coming home?"_

_"It should be about a week. We can surprise him by having everything unpacked!" Her mother said enthusiastically, as Hotaru smiled._

_"Surprises are fun!" She cheered, throwing her hands up in the air. "Maybe we can make some Mochi too, right?"_

_"That sounds like lots of fun," Her mother chuckled, as they approached a large building. As Hotaru and her mother drew nearer, they noticed a few, small, rather worn boxes that contained their belongings sitting on the porch, undoubtedly brought over by one of the other employees. "This box is yours, Hotaru. You can ask one of the other ladies politely where our rooms are, okay?"_

_"Right," Hotaru replied determinedly, taking the box and walking to the door. She gasped in surprise when she stepped inside the sliding screen. There was a large hallway, lined with doors all the way to the very end._

_"Can I help you?" A tall woman wearing a maid uniform asked, emerging from the door next to her. Hotaru gulped, bowing lowly._

_"C-can you show me to my room?" Hotaru stuttered out, nervous about talking to someone she didn't know. The maid inspected her for a minute, before smiling._

_"You're one of the Kimura's, right? Your rooms are the two at the very end." The maid informed her, indicating the pair of doors down the hallway. Hotaru bowed again, before running down the stretch toward the location. She opened the door on the right side, and walked in. It was a bare, simple bedroom, with two windows, a closet and a small, old fashion heater in the corner. Hotaru smiled at the charming room. The walls were white, which reminded her of her old bedroom._

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><p>"And that's how it all started," Hotaru finished, smiling at the twins. "We were best friends ever since."<p>

"But how come I never saw you all that time. I can only remember seeing you recently." Honey asked, still unable to get over the fact that he had been oblivious for so long.

"My mother would only bring me up to play with Takashi on weekends. And I went to a public school up until High school, when Mori's parents offered to pay my tuition," Hotaru elaborated, as Honey made a sudden noise of comprehension.

"You were probably there when I was training in the dojo!" He exclaimed, feeling satisfied that he had found an answer that made sense.

"But wait, Honey said you were a maid?" The twins asked, still looking confused.

"Once I turned thirteen, I was able to help out with the work at the house, to help pay the rent for my room. For a while I have been working on Saturday nights." She replied, and the hosts nodded. Immediately, realization seemed to dawn, her eyes widening considerably as her thought processes turned to a more startling train. "Wait... Work! I'm going to be late!" Hotaru shrieked, startling them all as she jumped up. "I think I still might be able to catch the bus, if I hurry!" She added, checking the clock.

"You don't have time," Mori replied, also checking the clock. "I can drive you, I have the car today." Hotaru nodded gratefully towards him, as she and Takashi turned to the rest of the hosts.

"Erm... It was really nice meeting you all. Sorry for running out like this," She apologized, before hurrying out of the room.

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><p><strong>Hello! Remember me? I have decided just to move the Author's notes to the end. It seemed like a better idea. I am going to keep all notes in a similar style to Four Leaf Clovers, (mostly becuase I am used to it.).Well, here is the highly anticipated new story! Please, leave a review and tell me what you think! Also, I dare any of you to find any mistakes. Me, andmy editer went through this a grand total of four times. It takes a lot longer then you think. So, if any of you see OutWriter18 around, remember to appreciate all the hard work! :3 Again, please review!<strong>

**Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for all my friends, family, home and keyboard. :)**

**Song Obsession of the Chapter: Soul Meets Body: Death Cab for Cutie.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I only own my characters and my plot, the rest belong to the respectable Hatori Bisco!**

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><p>"They were exactly like what you described," Hotaru commented once Mori and she had gotten down to his car, hand resting lightly on the door handle of the atypically normal-looking vehicle as she waited for him to unlock it.<p>

Unlike the rest of the hosts, his family didn't have limos. It wasn't a question of wealth; but more of finding the idea of driving a limo everywhere as incredibly vexing and unnecessary since most of the family preferred to travel independently and not quite so conspicuously. Instead they had a plain—at least in comparison to the other Academy students—car which the Morinozuka family shared amongst themselves depending on who needed it and when and what for. For example, Akira Morinozuka taught Kendo classes in the dojo, which rarely required the services of the automobile, whereas Tora Morinozuka usually preferred to stick around the house, also lessening her own personal use. Satoshi wasn't yet able to drive, and so instead would catch a ride home with Yasuchika, Honey's brother, or else ride his bike to where he wished to go. In the end the only regular use the car got was when Mori went to school.

"I already knew about Tamaki and Kyoya," she continued, "but not the rest. Yet even so, they are still just like I thought they would be."

Mori smiled knowingly and nodded, remembering his first encounter with the hosts. He couldn't help but wish that someone would have warned him ahead of time. However ridiculous and unpredictable his friends could be, he had trained himself to treasure the time they spent together. Key word being 'train'.

"But I have to hand it to Haruhi-san; she plays the part of a male host very well. She probably would have fooled me, had you not told me she was a girl," Hotaru added conversationally.

"She fooled all of us at first," Mori replied. "And she continues to fool everyone every day."

"In a way she's just like you and me; we fooled them all, too, and they seemed quite surprised by that," Hotaru added, chuckling lightly. "It was actually a little funny, although I don't think Kyoya likes me much as a result."

"He doesn't like to miss things," Mori replied honestly and somewhat humorously. "He'll warm up to you."

"I'm not all that worried, to be frank." Hotaru replied, shrugging her shoulders slightly to further portray her own honesty. "I'm not going to let him bully me around, like everyone else." Mori nodded, taking a left and pulling up to a small café which bore a sign reading, 'The Blackbird Café'. By the way he navigated the area it was obvious he'd been here many times before.

Mori smiled warmly as he reached over to rub her hair affectionately. Hotaru laughed and allowed him to pat her head.

"I have to go now, my shift starts soon" She told Mori, leaning over to give him a swift kiss on the cheek before jumping out of the car and waving. Once the car had begun to pull away, she turned toward the building and walked inside.

Upon entering, Hotaru immediately took into mind the accustomed sight before her, reveling in its familiarity and pleasant atmosphere. The walls of the Blackbird Cafe were painted a dark calming blue, and were lined expertly by many thin, tall windows. There were several large black plush chairs placed around the room, along with iron café tables coupled with matching iron chairs made up of spiraling metal. Lining the sides of the space were black service tables, and at the head of the large room was a display case full of the day's top picks of fresh baked pastries. Behind the vintage coffee-press, there was a large, beautiful painting of a Blackbird, hence the name. In addition to the painting, there were also black feathers painted on each of the walls, the downy designs meant to further enhance the Blackbird aspect of the café into its reputation, creating the illusion of softness where there was none.

As she crossed the café, Hotaru waved to one of her co-workers, of who nodded in acknowledgement before finishing taking the customer's order. Walking over behind the desk whilst whistling a contented tune, Hotaru signed herself in and then took her black apron off the row of hooks reserved for the employees use. She had hardly gotten the strings of the apron tied behind her back when she heard a soft bell clink, and turned around with a warm, practiced smile on her face to welcome the customer with a phrase she had no doubts she would use the rest of the day.

"Welcome to the Blackbird Café!"

* * *

><p>Hotaru looked tiredly over to the door as the bell clanged for what had to have been the hundredth time that night, sounding off just as Hotaru was finishing the latest of the orders. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mori walk in and instantly brightened up. She turned back to the customer she was currently helping, and finishing her final order of the night, before hanging up her apron and signing out.<p>

"How was work?" Mori questioned like usual, taking the lead as they walked out of the small building.

"Same as always," Hotaru replied, before snickering. "But there was this one kid who couldn't have been older then twelve, who ordered five hot chocolates, then drank them all within fifteen minutes."

"Impressive," Mori replied, his eyebrows rising as he unlocked the doors of the car. Once they were inside Mori immediately started the engine, beginning to pull away from the parking space as Hotaru continued onto a much easier topic.

"I'm just glad it's Friday, and I have no homework," Hotaru replied, smirking as she looked over at a sighing Mori. Unlike herself, he had been assigned a ten page essay in science, one of which he had been procrastinating over ever since it was assigned.

"It'll only take a couple of hours," Mori replied resolutely, and Hotaru laughed.

"Aren't you the optimist?" She teased, then carried on the discussion towards the two obnoxious customers who had stood in line for at least five whole minutes before deciding they didn't feel hungry and leaving, or her failed attempt to decipher thick foreign accents. The whole conversation seemed to pass within five minutes, with Hotaru speaking nonstop, and Mori loyally listening to every sentence, though in reality it was much longer. The car pulled up to the Morinozuka mansion, circling around the snake-like drive way.

The mansion was traditionally based with its construction and style, complete with large Zen gardens and some burning incense. The walls were made from a wood and cement foundation, despite the appearance of looking like the original materials. All of the doors were a sliding style, and the windows had beautiful carved wooden designs around them. In all, the mansion wasn't as big as most people would think, but that mostly had to do with the fact that no one really needed the space. Perhaps mansion was actually the wrong word, and a more correct term was it's being more of a large house. It almost appeared as though it were something out of a story book, only it was better because it was real. Parking the car in the small garage that they had built, Mori got out first to open her door before they both continued up to the house

"We're home," Mori announced upon opening the sliding door and letting Hotaru walk in before him.

"Hello!" Tora called out, poking her head around the opposite hallway. "We're making cookies, do you want to help?"

"Cookies?" Hotaru asked, slightly humored at this thought. "I thought you made cookies a couple of days ago?"

"I thought I did too," Tora huffed, sending a glare over into the kitchen, where Satoshi undoubtedly was situated. "But then someone needed a midnight snack."

"Midnight feast," Mori corrected logically, causing Tora to smile.

"Something along those lines, but the remaining fact is there was cookies, but now there aren't. And I won't ask the chef to make any more."

"I'll help," Hotaru offered, and Mori nodded stately. Tora smiled thankfully before beckoning them inside the kitchen.

"You can get the Baking Powder," She called out, opening the fridge and peering around for the ingredient she was looking for.

"Baking Powder… Baking Powder…" Hotaru hummed to herself, rummaging through the cupboards. "Is this it?"

Tora and Mori both turned to look at Hotaru, who was holding a can full of a thick, dense powder.

"Hotaru-chan," Tora replied awkwardly. "That says Baking Soda."

"No, it said baking powder…" Hotaru retorted, turning the can's label so she could read it. "Or it did a minute ago… It must have changed, I swear it said powder."

"Of course it did," Mori replied evenly, picking up the can and putting it back in the cupboard. "But there is a reason you don't do any baking."

"What?" Hotaru asked, scowling slightly as her eyebrow twitched. "Don't get smart. It was the label's fault."

"How about you help me with this homework instead?" Satoshi called out, clearly frustrated by his incomprehension. "I can't help with any baking until all this homework is done!"

"It's not anything related to math or science, is it? Because if it is, I think I might do more harm than good. Though I might anyways, I'm dyslexic, remember?" Hotaru replied, peering curiously over his shoulder.

"No, it's English," Satoshi replied moodily. "Something about iambic pentameters."

"Poetry…" Hotaru murmured to herself, scanning over the textbook. "I think that is the measuring of the rhythm, right?"

"But is it ten syllables, or five syllables?" Satoshi asked, pointing out the question that was currently troubling him.

"I thought it was ten syllables into five pairs… Yeah, it's right there," Hotaru replied euphorically, pointing out a section in the footnotes.

"Oh…" Satoshi replied, quickly scribbling down the answer before moving onto the next question. "And what's a ballad?"

"Ballad?" Hotaru questioned, obviously stumped as well. "Erm…"

"I think it's a poem of someone's view on their own life or of the life of others," Tora pointed out, scooping out a large spoon of flour. "That's what I remember."

"That makes sense…" Satoshi murmured under his breath, already writing down the answer.

"I thought you didn't like poetry," Mori mentioned, watching Hotaru continue to help Satoshi.

"Oh, I don't like it," Hotaru replied seriously. "But that doesn't mean I didn't learn it… at least, some of it…"

"You mean the part that you were awake for?" Mori pestered, earning himself another pouting glare from Hotaru.

"I was awake, I was just resting my eyes," She retorted, causing Satoshi and Tora to laugh.

"You couldn't be any more original?" Satoshi questioned, rolling his eyes as he turned back to his homework. Hotaru chose not to answer that enquiry.

"What's the next question?" Hotaru asked changing the subject.

"Done!" Tora replied ecstatically before Satoshi could answer, pulling the last tray out of the oven. "No, Satoshi-kun," She added with stern authority upon seeing the young boy inching towards the nearest stack of cookies. "You ate the last ones."

"But there are so many," He argued heatedly, motioning towards all the counters, which were stacked with cookies.

"But the only reason I made them was because you ate the rest. These are for other people who didn't get any."

Satoshi sulked, sinking down in his chair to the point where his nose was nearly level with the table. The sound of a door opening sounded through the house, signaling that the final Morinozuka was home.

"Otou-san!" Hotaru greeted, smiling over to the man who had just entered the kitchen. Morinozuka Akira was a ridiculously tall man with wild black hair and a short black beard to match it. Everyone could see the unmistakable resemblance between this man, and the two other Morinozuka males occupying the room. The only thing that set them apart was that Satoshi had inherited his father's cool, grey eyes and mother's warm, bubbly personality, whilst Mori had inherited his warm brown eyes from his mother, and quiet personality from his father.

"Good evening," He greeted gruffly, nodding to everyone in the room as he took another step. Immediately all eyes were attracted to the thick bandages wrapped around his right foot, but before anyone could, Akira answered the unasked question. "It's fine;" he said almost solemnly, following the gazes of those in the room. "The doctor just wanted me to wear the wrappings for a couple of days, just in case."

"Are you sure, Akira?" Tora asked, pulling off her oven mitts. "You don't want any ice?"

"No," He replied shortly, sitting down at one of the few empty chairs occupying the table. "I'm fine."

"Whatever you say," Tora replied skeptically. "Do you want a cookie?" This time Akira merely nodded silently, and all of the teenagers watched as Tora pulled out an ice pack from the freezer, and placed it on the plate before adding some warm cookies next to it. She set it down in front of him nonchalantly, kissing his cheek lightly before returning to dishing out the cookies. Akira sighed, before resolutely picking up the ice pack and putting it gingerly on his foot. It was no use lying to Tora.

"Satoshi-kun. You get three cookies, no more," Tora commanded her younger son, who instantly recovered from his pouting and smiled with glee.

"Yahoo! Cookies!" He cheered, eagerly standing up. His father held his hands up, signaling him to stop.

"What do you say, Satoshi-kun?" Akira asked slowly, giving off the air of shaming some small child.

"Thank you mom," Satoshi obliged, formally bowing and undoubtedly thinking of how old fashioned his parents were. "I would really enjoy some cookies." Tora rolled her eyes at her husband. Even after all the time that she had spent with him, she still had to agree with Satoshi. He could be old fashioned with his manners. She picked up the three nearest cookies and handed them to Satoshi.

"How was school?" Tora queried of the three students once they had all settled down with some cookies. Hotaru had long since accepted the fact that she treated her like one of her own children. At this point, she practically was. On average, whether it was her Saturday work, or hanging out, Hotaru spent more time with the Morinozuka's than at her own home. It even played into her calling Akira, 'Otou-san', which originally had been a joke. She had decided to play along, and the habit never really wore off.

"It was good," the three replied in perfect unison, although a third of the answer was slightly muffled by Satoshi's full mouth. He had been so overjoyed that he had gotten some of the fresh cookies he had ended up stuffing them all into his mouth within the first thirty seconds in which he received them.

"Satoshi," Tora scolded lightly, also chewing on a bite of cookie. "It's not polite to talk with food in your mouth."

For a moment everyone remained silent, none entirely eager to be the one to point out her hypocrisy, and in the end no one did. It was much safer to continue being mute rather than risking the wrath of a mother charged with such an insult.

"How was your day?" Akira asked after a moment, clearly making an effort to end the awkward tension that had arisen in the room.

"Fine, but I ended up spending three hours baking, which isn't what I had planned on doing today," Tora replied, shooting another pointed look at Satoshi.

"Variety's the spice," Mori commented, and Tora sighed in resignation. He had definitely inherited his views on life from his father.

"Maybe so, but I did want to read that book today," She replied, disappointment etched into her features.

"You could have let me helped! I'm sure I could have gotten the recipe right, this time!" Hotaru replied quickly, attempting to be optimistic. Again, everyone remained silent, thinking about the last time she had said that.

"How has your father's business trip been going?" Akira asked Hotaru tactfully. "He's still in Bosnia, correct?"

"No, that was last week. Right now his is somewhere in Germany," Hotaru replied indifferently, her cheery mood becoming subdued by mention of her father.

It wasn't that Hotaru was on bad terms with her father, she actually liked him a lot—he was her father, after all—the reason was more because her father had rarely been home for longer than a week since as long as she could remember. He was the sort of person who had always been on the lookout for a new adventure, and was never content to remain in one place for long, causing his constant absence to be ordinary rather than upsetting in any way. His job also improved little his tendency to stay away. Almost by design he had picked an occupation that paid him to travel to distant places and attend global conferences, and it didn't help either that his job covered his recreational travel costs as well, which only allowed him to stay away even longer than his trips would usually require. At first, Hotaru's mother had been upset by this turn of events and, to be fair, she had fair reason to be; but after many a loud debate, she had ultimately given up and adapted to the lifestyle of a virtually single mother. There was a slightly dysfunctional relationship among her family. Her mother was always working, or else contented to busy herself with her own activities, and her father, when he was home, attempted to spend some family time with them, which always failed. The family was made up of clashing interests. In turn of all the cause and effect, Hotaru ended up with several parental figures, the most proximate of which happened to be Akira and Tora Morinozuka. Satoshi had ended up like a younger sibling, and as far as his memory dated back, Hotaru was always around with the Morinozuka Household. Oddly enough, she had never considered Mori as a sibling figure. He seemed to fall under the category of 'play-mate' at a young age, and evolved into 'friend,' then 'boyfriend'.

"Sounds like fun," Satoshi commented, attempting to eliminate the awkward silence his father had seemed only to make worse. "Did you hear that the next season of Squishy Sushi is going to be airing soon?" At these words, everyone groaned.

"Another season of Squishy Sushi?" Hotaru asked pessimistically. "It was bad having to watch the last three seasons with you, now there's going to be another one?"

"Hey!" Satoshi called out in protest, dramatic as ever. "Don't act like you didn't like watching it!"

"I'm not acting," Hotaru replied bluntly, raising an eyebrow. "After watching people chuck up cuttlefish for entertainment, I think I have every right to say that the whole idea of the show is appalling."

"She's right," Mori replied tersely, mentally wincing at the thought of the last season's premier. "The eel wasn't any less enjoyable."

"I think that the Spam was, by far, the worst thing that I have ever seen before. Amazing, what people think off..." Tora trailed off, rolling her eyes. Everyone at the table made a face.

"Boys, you still have training today." Akira reminded them, his voice tinged with desperation to halt the unappealing turn of conversation.

"Already?" Satoshi whined while standing up indefinitely. "But I haven't gotten any free time! I want to go play some video games!"

"I didn't get much free time either," Tora reminded him. "Now go practice. I already gave you some cookies today." Satoshi nodded, before shuffling his feet over to the hallway that led to the dojo. Mori followed suit, running a hand through Hotaru's hair as he passed by her.

* * *

><p>The next morning was of the usual Saturday normality. Hotaru woke up to her alarm buzzing quietly yet effectively, it's annoying ring just enough to coax her out of bed to turn it off from where it sat on the opposite side of the room. It was something she had brainstormed after learning to turn off her alarm in her sleep. By the time she had walked over to the other side of the room to where her alarm was, and turned it off, she was already out of bed and no longer allowed the temptation to sink back into the covers for 'five' more minutes of sleep.<p>

Her hand clumsily pressing the "off" button, Hotaru rubbed her eyes in a vain attempt to rouse herself. The hardest part about waking up was, of course, waking up. The first few minutes were always the worst.

It was only when she had managed to pull herself from her dazed state that Hotaru looked around at her room, like she did most every day. For the first time in some time, she realized just how much different it was now in comparison to how it had been twelve years ago when she had first moved in; not even the walls were discernible from their original state. Now they were all host to murals that Hotaru had painted herself with pastel enchanted designs, the colors embedded in them adding an intense glow to the room. Mostly there were fabled plants painted along neutrally blue skies, wispy clouds, and fairytale-like trees. Along the windows and door trimming, she had painted long, vivid ivy, and the closet doors had become iron garden gates, along with mythical scenery inside.

As for the furniture in the room, there wasn't all that much: just a simple, basic brown bed; a normal wooden desk crammed with papers, markers, paints, homework and a few books; and a chair in front of the desk. There was a small black shelf nailed right beside her bed as well which displayed a small yellow lamp, a potted iris, and a whittled cup full of paintbrushes. Also occupying the room were numerous plants, all resting on shelves nailed into the walls, or else sitting on the hard, dark colored wooden floors. But the main spectacle however was a large, blooming vine that hung in the window and coiled around its pot, creating a fantastic appearance of greenery and life.

Her room probably wasn't one like most other teenage girls, but she honestly didn't care. After all, her views on things were much different than the average person's.

Hotaru yawned slightly, coming back from her musings before stretching out her arms and walking over to her closet. It was an average closet size, not too big, and not too little. Not that she thought goldilocks would ever be in her house, but you could never be too sure... (i'm going to leave it.) good, 8D

Fully dressed in a brown shirt, and a pair of comfortable jeans, Hotaru threw her clothes into the basket in the closet, before closing the door and noting that it was about time to do her laundry. She opened up the door, and continued on down the hall, remembering to walk quietly so she wouldn't wake up the other maids who had been working late. That had been a lesson she had learned the hard way when she first came.

The air was morning crisp, and Hotaru inhaled contentedly, before continuing the walk towards the Morinozuka mansion and her breakfast.

"Hello," Hotaru greeted the staff, walking into the lively, noisy room. One of the best perks of working at the mansion was being able to go to the staff room for breakfast. The room was decorated lavishly, and had a certain class in the ink black furniture and deep red walls that gave the whole roomed a false pretense of formality. More or less, it was considered the staff 'play room.'

"Hello," Some of the other workers replied, while others just nodded towards her. She walked over to the table laden with food and picked out what seemed good to her. When eating breakfast in the staff lounge, something you could count on was that you would never have the same thing twice. The chef that worked there preferred greatly to diversify his meals, and always tried new things. Once she had even eaten a grilled frog, mostly to her displeasure, but at the time it had either been that or the cow lung.

There was a large pot of soup in front of her that had a strong scent of spices wafting from its surface, the sight and smells interesting her enough to take a small bowl, along with some bread that she was pretty sure was of French origin. (I know, that must have had horrid grammar, but I can't think of how to rephrase that.) no worries

"What are you doing today?" One of the gardeners asked once she sat down at the table. "You know the festival is going to be in town soon? I was thinking of going today, along with my niece."

"I know, I was thinking about going, but I have the evening shift today. I wanted to be there for the fireworks," Hotaru replied. "I might just hang around until then."

"You could always ask your boyfriend to give you the day off," The butler replied, smirking mischievously. "I bet he would even take you to the Festival, if you asked."

"Shut up," Hotaru replied firmly. "To sum up my response to everything you just said: No."

"You shouldn't be picking a fight with her," one of the staff teased, elbowing the young butler in the ribs. "Hotaru-chan doesn't like being wrong, and she might talk off all of our ears." The rest of the staff laughed at that, as the girl in question rolled her eyes. Even she knew there was little to no point in trying to deny it.

"Morning shifts start in ten," The gardener informed the room at large, picking up her plates and putting them in the 'to be washed' bin. This broke up the conversations that had been traveling throughout the room, as people stood up and readied themselves for their work, or else exited the room so they wouldn't be in the way. Hotaru was the latter, walking down the hallway, back towards the Staff housing.

"Hotaru-nee!" A voice called out as a certain energetic boy came sprinting down the hallway. "Hide me!"

"What?" Was all Hotaru had time to reply, looking behind her to see Satoshi running towards her. He jumped behind her and bent his knees, equaling out their heights and hiding himself the best he possibly could with such a poor choice in hiding spots, before another figure came down the hallway.

"Satoshi, I'm going to find you!" Another teenager called, appearing down the hallway wearing thick, heavy glasses. He had ear length dirty blond hair and the brown eyes that most Haninozuka men had inherited, along with a more normal height— at least in comparison to his brother. He has been just as oblivious as the rest of the hosts when it came to Hotaru and Mori, and Satoshi had miraculously found a way to keep his mouth shut about it, as well.

"Have you seen a boy with dark hair any place near here?" The boy asked hurriedly, skidding to a stop to speak to Hotaru, and evidently unaware of the mess of black hair that was poking out from behind her.

"Dark hair?" Hotaru questioned, obviously playing for time. "Um… let me see…"

"Just answer the question!" The boy retorted angrily, pushing up his prescription lens.

"Don't talk to Hotaru-nee that way!" Satoshi commanded, leaping out from behind Hotaru and smacking the other boy upside the head. "Respect people who are older then you, Yasuchika!"

"Satoshi," Yasuchika blurted out, apparently faking tears as he rubbed the sore skin. "Why are you so mean?"

"Is the game over?" A cheerful voice called from down the hallway, as the oldest Haninozuka appeared into sight, approaching them. Yasuchika quickly began to mop up his fake tears on his sleeve, and Satoshi turned around to face him.

"I think you won!" He replied, as Honey beamed, noticing Hotaru

"Hota-chan!" He called out in happiness, bouncing up to give her a hug. "I found you here!"

"Hello, Honey-senpai. You did find me," Hotaru replied, ruffling his hair. There was not a doubt in her mind that he had come over today so that he could find her in the Mornizuka house.

"You inherited that from Aunty Tora!" He exclaimed, poking a finger at Hotaru's hand. "Takashi did too!"

"I never really noticed," Hotaru replied, curiously looking down at her hand. "I guess I did…"

"Hm?" A new voice questioned as Mori appeared, no doubt attracted by all the noise.

"Hi Takashi!" Honey and Satoshi called out, as Hotaru waved and Yasuchika remained indifferent.

" Mitsukuni, Satoshi," Mori replied in acknowledgement with his deep voice, patting Hotaru's head in greeting. Honey sent her a look that obviously said, 'I told you so'.

"We were playing hide and go seek," Satoshi informed Mori intelligently, looking like a puppy starving for attention. "But then Yasuchika tried to cheat by asking Hotaru if she had seen me."

"I see," Mori replied tersely, as was his wont.

"But now the game is over. This is boring," Yasuchika retorted, his pride apparently wounded. Satoshi huffed in aggravation, clearly having been enjoying the game.

"You can play some chess," Hotaru offered, and Yasuchika snorted.

"I'd rather not play a game of chess. My alien brother always cries when he loses a piece," He replied, causing them all to look down at Honey, who smiled sweetly. "I'm going to go home instead. I have some training to complete."

"I'll play chess," Mori offered, as Honey nodded enthusiastically.

"I want to watch!" He declared, before holding up a pink rabbit. "And so does Usa-chan!"

"As long as you don't cry when I beat you," Hotaru teased Mori, poking him in the cheek. Mori smirked back at Hotaru.

"If I remember correctly, you were the one who cried when you lost," He retorted, and Hotaru's smile slid off her face.

"I was seven, what do you expect?" She exclaimed, and his mouth twitched into a grin. "But this time, I will beat you!"

Honey laughed, as Mori shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch."

"Don't start quoting old proverbs."

* * *

><p><strong>Hello! I am very sorry for the late chapter. <strong>

** You can expect the next update to be two to three weeks out. Sorry to those who want a quick update, but I need some social time, and some anime time. **

**Another big thanks to my editer, OutWriter18! She is an amazing person. **

**Song Obsession of the Chapter: Jars by Chevell.  
><strong>


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